Find out more as the Reval2023 team hold a series of NI events
and live on Freeview channel 276
Since October 2021, Land & Property Services (LPS) has been working with the business community to gather rental evidence and other information to help assess new values on almost 75,000 non-domestic properties in Northern Ireland.
Known as Reval2023, this process will result in a new non-domestic Valuation List coming into effect in April 2023.
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Hide AdNext year’s rate bills for non-domestic properties will be based on this new list.
Rates are an essential source of funding for public services. Each year business rates generate around £650m in NI, which helps fund vital public services such as our education, health and infrastructure as well as a wide range of functions undertaken by district councils.
As rate bills are based on property values, LPS needs to carry out revaluations from time to time so that the very important revenue collected through the rating system is based on values which are up to date. This maintains the fairness of the system by redistributing rates in line with changes in the property market.
The last revaluation of business properties in NI was in 2020 and was based on April 2018 rental values. A lot has changed in the property market since then, not least because of the impact of the global pandemic. The new rateable values will better reflect how property values have changed between sectors and locations since the last revaluation in 2020.
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Hide AdMore frequent revaluations is something that business ratepayers have called for because it means the changes are easier to manage. The new revaluation has been delivered only three years since the last one in 2020. This is the shortest time between revaluations ever delivered in any of the UK jurisdictions.
Overall, the total rateable value in the Valuation List will decrease by just under 1%. This is the first time that the total value has decreased between revaluations, which is a reflection of the challenging economic conditions experienced by some business sectors and locations at the valuation date of 1 October 2021.
However, that does not mean that all ratepayers will see a reduced rateable valuation. Some sectors and locations have experienced above average growth because the market demand for those properties has been strong.
The question that most business ratepayers are interested in is what difference this will make to their rate bill.
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Hide AdThe first thing to be clear about is that the revaluation does not in itself change the amount of revenue that is raised from rates, it just redistributes who pays the tax on the basis of more up to date information about what is happening in the market.
After a revaluation, both the Department of Finance and district councils adjust the regional and district rates to make sure that the overall amount of money collected stays the same.
This means that, before any other changes are made to the rates by the Executive or the councils, over 64% of business ratepayers would either see a reduction or no change in their rate bill.